Fuel burning wall space heater



NOV. 13, 1956 NORDHOLT ET AL 2,770,228

FUEL BURNING WALL. SPACE HEATER Filed Sept. 11, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1FIG. 1. 46 F1012. F1614.

INVENTORS Lo 1111; E. arn 1501i Hurray Wz'liz o it? ATTORNEYS Nov. 13,1956 L. E. NORDHOLT ETAL 2,770,228

FUEL BURNING WALL SPACE HEATER Filed Sept. 11, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 424a 2 72 FIG.6'. 66j 6 44 2s 20 4a 42 J V r /1 4/ {I 90 .56 90 5'0INVENTORS 32 70 28 l 68 Louis E laz-a'fia l2 F1610. mm; Wz'lkoize BY W,

ATTORNEYS Nov. 13, 1956 L. E. NORDHOLT ET AL 2,770,228

FUEL. BURNING WALL SPACE HEATER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 11, 1953INVENTORS .50 1:11; I. flordfio It Maria Wz'lfia 1' 1e lll WAQMGpWATTORNEYS 1956 E. NORDHOLT ET AL 2,770,228

FUEL BURNING WALL SPACE HEATER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 11, 1953FIG.14.-

INVENTORS L on Z'SE/lforafiol a Marrzy m1}; oz'ie ATTORNEYS UnitedStates atent O 2,770,228- FUEL BURNING WALL sPAcn HEATER Louis E.Nordholt and Murray Wilhoite, Nashville, Tenn.,

assignors to Temco; Inc.-, Nashville, Team, a corporation of TennesseeApplication September 11, 1953, Serial No. 379,503

3 Claims. (Cl; 126- 116) This application relates to space heaters, andmore particularly to a wall heater adapted to be installed in a recessin the wall of a room. r t I Wall heaters are known in the art andusually are adapted to be installed in the space between adjacent wallstuds with verylittle protrusion into the room. Certain wall heaters ofthis type heat principally by radiation and others by convection. Theheater which is walls of the recess in which the heater is installed orof I the flue to which the heater is vented.

Otherobjects and advantages of the invention reside in specificstructural details and will be made more capparent from the followingdescription and accompany- ,ing drawings, in which: t Figure 1 is afront elevation view of a wall heater embodying this invention andshowing the same installed in the yvallof a room. c p i i j i Q '21;Figure g is a side elevational view of a (Wall heater emhodyi'ngthisinvention taken substantially on line 2-2 of ure i I Figure 3L is afront ele vational View of=thewall heater removed to illustrate details.i

shown in Figure Ia -but with the frontgrilles and panel F'gure 4is avertical sectional view taken substantially .online 4- 4 ofFigurel. a it a .1

Figure 5 is a-vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 5530fFigure 2. L

a Figure 6 is an enlargedhorizontal sectional view taken on line 6-6 ofFigure l.

on line 7+7 of Figure B Figure 8 is an enlarged 111 T3 r i e Figure 7 isan enlarged horizontal sectional view taken horizontal sectional viewtaken trating supporting and fastening means; y

Figure l-l is an exploded'perspective view of 'the wall heater shown'inFigured-.

' ilding to: heat two rlooins on opposite sides of tha wall.

few area an line F gures and 10 are enlaifgetljfragmentaryviews Figure1'2is afview, ggrresponding generally to ute :and showing a medifiedform of heat r embodying. Vehtioh for installation'in. an interiorw wallot xa taken substanailetl area :liiie 2,770,228 Patented Nov. 13, 1956ice Referring now to the drawings, the heater embodying this inventioncomprises a substantially rectangularcas ing 20 having top 22, bottom24, back 26, and side 28 panels, preferably of sheet metal (Figures 4,6, 7, and 11). The casing side panels 28 preferably are integral withthe back panel 26, while the top and bottom panels 22 and 24 of thecasing 20 are formed of separate sheets having side and back edgeflanges which interiorly overlap the corresponding edges of the casingside and back panels 28 and 26 and are spot welded thereto, as shown inFigures 4, 5, and 11. The front'edges of the casing side panels 28 areturned inwardly to form a shoulder 30, best shown in Figure 7, andthence outwardly topro vide inwardly offset front flanges 32, towhichsheet metal screws 34 secure overlapping' side flanges of arelatively short casing front panel 36. (Figures 3, 4, and 11); 4 Thecasing front panel 36 terminates short of the top and bottom panels 22and 24 of the casing 20 to provide relatively large lower and upperfront openings 38 and 40, respectively, that constitute a lower cold-airinlet and an upper hot-air outlet, as shown best in Figures 3 and 4.Further, the front flanges 32 terminate just short of the top and bottompanels 22 and 24 of the casing, as shown in Figure 11. The casing 20 isof a width slightly less than the conventional spacing between wallstuds 42 (Figure 6), so that it will fit fairly snugly in a recess 44formed in a wall 46 between adjacent studs. The depth of the casing 20is slightly greatenthan that of thethickness of-a conventional dwellingwall, so that the heater protrudes slightly into the room. I

The side panels 28 of the casing 201 are provided with exteriorverticallydisposedflange-like spacer members .48, each generallyV-shaped in cross=section, one leg of which is secured fiat against thecorresponding side panel and the other leg of which is adapted toyieldingly engage against the side of a stud 42 for relatively snuglyretaining the casing 20 in positionin the wall; recess 44, as shown inFigure 5 and 6. At its bottom, the casing 20 is supported on top of thewall sill 50 (Figure 2) by a transverse flange-like bracket;52.Preferably, the bracket 52 and the spacer members 48 are secured to thecasing 20 by spot welding. 1

The lower interior portion of the casing 20 constitutes a burner chamber54 for thereception of a transverselyelongated conventional gas burner56 ,and its eontrol accessories, such as a shut-off valve 58, a manifold60, etc, best illustrated in Figures 5 and 1 1, and the side panels 28of the casing are provided with louvers 62 adjacent the burner chamber.Above the burner phamber 54 the casing 20 is provided with aliner havingtop 64, back 66, and side '68 panels extending substantially in spacedparallel relationship with the'top 22, back 26, and side 28 panels ofthe casing to provide side and back vertical passagewaysjtl and 72,respectively, and a top passageway 74 between the liner and the casing.Prefthatintepiorly overlap and are spot Welded to the linerside and backpanels 23 and 26. The lower end of the liner terminates at a pointslightly below the top of the burner 56. The front edges of thelinenside panels 168 overlap the front casing flanges 32' and are spotwelded thereto for securingthe liner within the casing 20, as best shownin Figures 6 to 8, and 11.

Supported within the casing lz il, i. e., Within the liner,

in overhanging relation. to the/burner 56;"is a hollow sack orchimney-like heat exchanger 76, preferahly;

formed of two sheet-metal sections each having upwardly ,a veringgrooves therein of substantially con's'tantly, d ecreasingcross-section. These two section s ar e welded together along side andupper edge flanges 73 to form to the liner side panels.

an open-bottom lower portion 80 of substantially uniform interiorcross-section, an intermediate portion 32, and an upper portion 84having laterally-spaced tubes 86 of upwardly decreasing cross-section.The intermediate portion 82 has a center hollow section 88 that isclosed at the top and has upwardly converging front and rear walls. Thiscenter section 88 is in open communication at its sides with lateralsections 90 in the form of upwardly divergent tubular passageways ofupwardly decreasing cross-section that merge into the spaced tubes 86.The front and rear walls of the lower portion 80 may be provided withlateral reinforcing indentations 92.

The heat exchanger 76 is provided, adjacent its bottom edge, withlateral tabs 94 adapted to engage in corresponding vertical slots 96(Figure 11) in the bottom edge of the liner side panels 68 for correctlyaligning and positioning the heat exchanger centrally within the linerin spaced relation to the back panel 66 thereof. Preferably, the edgesof the slots 96 are reinforced with exterior U- shaped slotted members98 having the legs thereof welded The heat exchanger 76 also has a pairof laterally-spaced depending apertured lugs 100 (Figures 3, 7, and 11)adapted to be secured, as by bolts 102, to corresponding aperturedportions 104 of the burner 56, beneath itsgas ports, for supporting theheat exchanger within the liner. The heat exchanger 76 is ofsubstantially uniform lateral dimension slightly less than the width ofthe liner so that the side flanges 78 of the heat exchanger are closelyadjacent the liner side panels 68 and thereby provide front and backair-heating passages 106 and 108 (Figures 4 and 7). Preferably a centrallower port 110 is provided in the lower portion of the heat exchanger 76both for observance of the burner flame and for lighting the burner 56or a pilot (not shown). V

Secured to the front of the heat exchanger 76, adjacent the upper end ofits intermediate portion 82, is an upwardly and forwardly inclinedlaterally-extending baflle --or deflector 111. The deflector 111 issomewhat above the top edge of the front casing panel 36 for reasonslater explained.

ship with and above the front edge of the bottom wall 114 to providea'laterally-elongated front opening 122. The bottom wall 114 is formedfrom a'separate sheet having depending side and back edge flanges whichare exteriorly overlapped by corresponding edges of the side and backwalls 116 and 11S and spot welded thereto.

Projecting upwardly from the rear of the top wall 120 of the hood 112 isa laterally-elongated vent pipe 124 which extends through correspondingapertures in the liner top panel 64'and the casing top panel 22 forconnection to an appropriate flue (not shown) concealed within thedwelling wall 46. 7

Within the hood 112 is an angular plate-like deflector 126 (Figure 4)which extends from the back wall 118,

at a point just below the vent pipe 124, forwardly and downwardly forashort distance, and thence downwardly -to. the bottomwall 11 4 of thehood just rearwardly of the tubes 86 of the heatlexchanger 76. The hood112 is secured to the liner 'by U-shap'ed apertured clips 127 "(Figure9), Which engage over apertured brackets 128 -welded to the liner side?panels 68 and are pierced by sheet-metal screws 130 that extend throughthe depending side flanges of the hood. Thus the hood 112 serves tocorrectly position the upper end of the heat exchanger 76 within theliner.

i installed in a wall recess, the front of the heater is finished off bya generally-rectangular sheet-metal front structure which includesdecorative side, bottom, and top sheet-metal moldings 132, 134, and 136,respectively, that fit closely against the corresponding edges of thecasing and those portions of the wall of the room about the recess. Atits four inner corners the finishing struc-- ture is provided withapertured brackets 138 (Figure 10) which are secured to the underlyingshoulders 30 of the casing side panels 28 by sheet-metal screws 140.Thus the front sheet-metal structure is secured to the casing; 20. Thefront structure also includes a central panel 142 which is welded to theside moldings 132 and disposed in spaced overlying relationship with thefront casing panel 36 to provide a passageway 144 therebetween (Figure4). The panel 142 has angular flanges at its top and bottom for reasonslater described.

The front decorative structure also includes a top panellike sheet-metaldetachable grille 146 which overlies the hot-air outlet 40 and a similarlower detachable grille 148 which overlies the cold-air inlet 38 andalso provides access to the burner chamber 54. The outlet grille 146 hasinturned flanges on its upper and lower edges which rest respectivelyagainst a shoulder 150 (Figures 3 and 4) formed by an inward offset inthe lower edge of the top molding 136 and the top angular flange of thecentral panel 142. The grille 146 has depending tabs 152 which arereceived in retaining slots in the top flange of the central panel 142while a sheet-metal screw 154 secures the top portion of the grille tothe shoulder 150 on the top molding 136. The inlet grille 148 likewisehas inturned top and bottom flanges. The bottom flange has dependingtabs 156 which are received in retaining slots in the bottom molding134, while the top flange rests on the lower flange of the central panel142. The inlet grille 148 may be detachably retained in place by aspring detent arm (not shown) which engages behind the lower edge of thecentral panel flange.

In operation of the heater, after the gas is turned on and the burner 56lighted, the hot products of combustion will pass upwardly through theheat exchanger 76,

thus heating the same, and into the hood 112 from whence they areconducted, via the vent pipe 124, into a flue for escape to theatmosphere. In their passagethrough the heat exchanger 76, the hot gasesare cooled and accordingly contract. Their consequent reduction involume is compensated for by the constantly decreasing interiorcross-sectional area of the heat exchanger, to thus more effectivelyextract heat from the combustion gases before they are vented toatmosphere. It also has been found in actual practice that because ofthe configuration of the heat exchanger 76 the same is heated uniformlylaterally ortransversely thereof with the result that no local hot spotsdevelop and the air wiping the exterior surfaces of the exchanger, asdescribed later, is heated more uniformly. Thus, there is a more uniformdistribution of heat laterally of the heater. Further, it has been foundthat the configuration of the exchanger reduces and minimize's eddyingor swirling of the hot combustion gases in their upward passagetherethrough to thereby increase the efficiency of the exchanger. Coldroom air enters the heater through the lower grille 148 and suppliescombustion air to the burner 56. Additionally, some of the cold airpasses upwardly in the front and rear air-heating passageways 106 and108, to'thereby wipe the exterior surfaces of the hot heat exchangerandbecome highly heated. Hence, an updraft of 'hot'air is created whichemerges through the grille 146 covering the hotair outlet.

It will be noted thatthe upwardly and outwardly-inlclined deflector '111extends subs'tantiallythe Width of t-mai-ntain theecas'ing panelsrelatively cool.

upwardly along the rear surfaces of the heat exchanger in the rear.passageway I08 flows outwardly between the two tubes 86 of the heatexchanger, above the deflector .111, for emergence through the upperportion of the ;'grille.

Since theliner walls also become warm during operation of the heaterbecause of radiant heat from the heat exchanger 76, air also flowsupwardly in the vertical passageways 70 and 72 between the liner and thecasing 20 and thenceforwardly in the top horizontal passageway 74betweenthe linerand thecasing for emergence through the'extreine upper portion"of the grille 146. The air thus flowing in thepassageways between theliner and the casing is obviously substantially cooler than the airwhich .conta'cts theheat exchanger 76 and, therefore, serves to Hence,the possibility of overheating :the walls of the recess in which theheater is installed is minimized. It also will be noted that therelatively cool air flowing outwardly in the passageway 74 Wipes thesurface of vent pipe 124 to cool the same and thus extract additionalheat from the combustion gases flowing therethrough. Consequently, thetemperature of the combustion gases is reduced conslderably before entryinto the flue, to both minimize the posto augment the burner updraft andalso to somewhat cool the hot products of combustion prior to theirpassage through the vent pipe 124. Hence, danger of overheating a flueis even further minimized. In this same connection, it is evident thatif a back draft condition obtains in the vent pipe 124, any such draftwill be deflected forwardly by the deflector 126 within the hood 112 toemerge 1.

from the front opening 122 of the hood for passage through the grille146, Without danger of passing downwardlfy through the heat exchanger 76and possibly blow- ;ingout the burner flame. r I Theinvention obviously.isadaptable to a dual wall. ms'tallation wherein .the heater heats thetwo spaces on opposite sides of a wall,.as shownin Figure 12. .This dualwall he ater also hasa substantially rectangular casing 220 comprisingtop 222, bottom 224, andside 228 panels, all

constructed similarly and connected together in the same manner as thecorresponding casing panels of the aforejdes'cribed 1 single wallheater. the front edges of the casing side panels 228, however,

The rear edges, as well as :gareturhed inwardlyto formfront and rearshoulders 230, as best shown in Figures 13 and 14, and thence outwardlyr gprgvideginwardly oifset frpntand rear flanges 232, to which sheetmetal screws 234 secure overlapping side flanges of relatively shortfront and rear casing panels 236. These front and rear casing panels 236terminate shortof the top and bottom panels 222 and 224 of the casing toprovide large lower and upper openings at both the front and rear of thecasing 220, these openings constituting lower cold-air inlets 238 andupper hot-air outlets 240, as in the aforedescribed single wall type ofheater.

Obviously, the dual wall heater is adapted to be installed in an openingin a wall (not shown) between studs therein, so that both the front andrear faces of the heater will be exposed to two rooms on opposite sidesof the wall. The side panels 228 of the casing are also provided withexterior spacer members 248 engageable with wall studs, and at itsbottom the casing is supported by a r transverse generally U-shapedbracket 252 secured to the casingbottom panel 224, as by spot welding.

Wi h'n the burner chamber 254 of the dual wall heater there are providedtwo spaced T-shaped gas burners 256, supported in lparazlleh'sm on asingle manifold 260, as is best shown in Figure 12;. Above the burnerchamber 254 the casing is provided with a liner having top 264 and side268 panels extending in sirbstam tially spaced parallel relationshipwith the top and side panels of the casing to provide vertical sidecoolingair passageways 270 and a top cooling-air passageway 274 betweenthe liner and the casing. These liner panels 264 'and 268 areconstructed similarly to those shown in the aforedescribed single wallinstallation and are similarly connected 'to the side 228 and top 222panels of the casing. Because of the greater "depth of the heater,however, generally U-shaped vertical spacer elements 275 are interposedbetween the opposed pairs of casing and liner side panels 228 and 268centrally in the side passageways 270 and are secured to one of thepanels, as by spot welding. I

The heating unitremp-loyed in the dual wall he'aterconsists of two heatexchangers @276, each substantially identical to the. heat "exchanger 76shown in the single wall heater, and arranged back to back. These heatexchangers 276 are secured together in spaced parallel relationship byplates or straps 277 which are spot welded to the exterior of the-low'er Eportion-s of the two exchangers, as best shown in Figures 12and 14. Further, the lower edges of the opposed walls 'of the twoexchangers 276 are arcuately recessed and bridged by means ofopen-bottom tunnel-like member 279. Thus, the lower portions of the twoheat exchangers are in open communication with one another, through themember 276, for equalizing the draft and the combustion in each.

As in the single wall heater heretofore described, the heating unit ofthe dual wall heater is mounted on the two burners 256 by means ofdepending lugs 3%, While the twoheat exchangers'are properly cent-credwith the burner chamber 254 by engagement of their side flanges 278within vertical slots formed in the upper edges of tab l-ike members 298secured,*as by screws 299-, adjacent the lower edges of the side panelsof: the liner. Preferably, within the lower portion and at the oppositesides of each of the two heat exchange elements 276 there are provided apair of opposed upwardly-inclined recirculation bafiies 391. Thesebaffles 301 tend to prevent turbulence of the upwardly ascending hotcombustion ga'ses issuing from the burners'256 and also to preventdownflow or redirculation of combustion gases along the side edges ofthe two heat exchangers 276, which downflow obviously would decrease theJeflioieiicy of the heat exchangers.

zaTheheat exchangers 276 are sp'acedfrom the front and b ackgcasingpanels 236, to thereby provide front and b ack air-heating passages. 306with a centralYair-heating passage 307 therebetween. Inclinedheart-deflector baffles 311, similar to the baflie 111 shown in theaforedesc'ribed single wall heater are secured, as by depending .sideflanges 313, to the side panels 368 of the liner, substantially midwayof the height of the two hot-air outlet opening-s 240.

Supported within the upper portion of the liner in spaced relation tothe top and side panels thereof is a sheet metal hood 312 having abottom wall 314 provided with four spaced apertures for the reception ofthe upper ends of the tubes 286 of the two heat exchangers. The upperends ofthese tubes 286 preferably are secured to the hood 312, as bywelding. This hood 312 is similar to that shown and described for thesingle wall heater and has upstanding side walls 316 and a top wall 320which has downwardly-inclined front and rear edges that terminate inspaced relationship and above the front and rear edges of the bottomwall 314 to provide laterallyelongated front and rear openings 322.Projecting centrally upwardly from the top wall 320 of the hood is alaterally-elongated vent pipe 324 which extends 264 and the casing toppanel 222 for connection to an appropriate flue (not shown) concealedwithin a dwelling wall.

Within the hood 312 is an inverted U-shaped backdraft deflector 326which extends transversely within the hood and is secured to the sidewalls of the latter as by spot 'welding. The hood 312 is secured inplace by sheet-metal screws 330 extending through the depending sideflanges of the hood and engaging with apertured brackets 328 welded tothe liner side panels. Preferably an inverted U-shaped bafile 329,angular in cross-section, is interposed between the top panel 264 of theliner and the top wall 320 of the hood with its legs depending betweenthe side walls-316 of the hood and the side panels 268 of the liner.This baflle 329 is off-center with respect to the vent pipe 324 andserves to equalize somewhat the discharge of hot air to the front andrear of the heater from the space between the liner top panel and thetop of the hood. Further, the b aille 329 serves to center the hoodwithin the liner.

Secured to a pivot rod 331 journalled in and extending through the sidepanels of the casing and the liner is a heat-deflector baffle 333 whichdepends centrally into the central air-heating passage 307. Theundersur-face of the bottom of the hood 312 is upwardly. channelled(Figure 12) for the reception of the pivot rod 331. Secured to one endof the rod 331 exteriorly of one of the casing side panels 228 is acrank member 335 (Figure 15) for rotating the rod and thus swinging theheat-deflector baffle 333 toward the front or toward the rear of theheater. The heatdeflector baffle 333 thus serves to deflect more or lesshot air, arising in the central passageway 30-7 between the two heatexchange members 276, into the front or rear hot-air outlets 240 of theheater. By this means, more or less hot air can be discharged into oneor the other of the two rooms on the opposite sides of the heater.

After the casing 220 with its enclosed parts has been installed in awall recess, the front and back thereof can be finished off by front andback structures, including decorative side, bottom, and top sheet metalmoldings, central panels, and grilles, similar to those employedfor-finishing 01f the aforedescribed single wall heater. Thesestructures are not shown in Figures 12 to '14, however, in order toavoid undue confusion.

It thus will be seen that the objects of this invention have been fullyand effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however that variouschanges may be made in the specific embodiment disclosed for the purpose-of illustrating the principles of this invention without departing fromsuch principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modificationsencompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A fluid fuel space heater adapted for installation in a recess in abuilding wall comprising: a metal casing adapted to fit the recess andhaving front, back, side, and top panels; a hollow heating elementmounted vertically in'said casing in spacedrelation to .said frontpanel, said element being of substantially uniform width with the sidesthereof disposed closely adjacent said casing side panels to form frontand back passages for upward passage of air, the upper portion of saidelement terminating in a pair of laterally-spaced tubes for forward fiowof air therebetween from said back passage; a fuel burner mounted insaid casing below said heating element for discharging products ofcombustion thereinto; means for connecting said tubes to a flue withinthe building wall; means defining a lower cold-air inlet and an upperhot-air outlet in said casing front panel, said outlet extending fromthe upper ends of said tubes downwardly past the lower ends thereof; anda forwardly-inclined bafile at the front of said heating elementadjacent the lower ends of said tubes for deflecting air rising in saidfront passage outwardly through the hot-air outlet.

2. A fluid fuel space heater adapted for installation in a recess in abuilding wall for heating the space on at least one side of the wallcomprising: a metal casing adapted'to fit the recess and having side,bottom, and top panels; a fuel burner mounted in the lower portion ofsaid casing and supported on said bottom panel; a hollow heating elementpositioned vertically in said casing above said burner for receivingproducts of combustion therefrom; and brackets secured to said heatingelement and to said burner for supporting the former on the latter.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 including: a casing liner havingside panels in spaced parallel relation to the casing side panels, thelower edges of said liner side panels being adjacent the lower end ofthe heating element, and lateral tabs on said heating element engaged incorresponding vertical slots in the lower edges of said liner sidepanels for centering said element in the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,456,472 Stein May 22, 1923 1,594,074 Shuell et a1 July 27,19261,652,438 Hicks Dec. 13, 1927 1,757,905 Guenther May 6, 1930 2,163,928Andrews June 27, 1939 2,482,369 Rhodehamel Sept. 20, 1949 2,484,457Marble Oct-11, 1949 2,487,776 Cartter NOV. 8, 1949 2,506,120 Turner May2, 1950 2,602,441 Hollingsworth et a1. July -8, 1952 2,622,806 Simmonset al Dec. 23, 1952 2,642,270 Hollingsworth et a1. June 16, 19532,696,369 Morley et al Dec. 7, 1 954 2,702,539 Cayot Feb. 22, 1955

